Instantaneous electric water heater



May 1, 1934. upw e 1,957,070

INSTANTANEOUS ELECTRIC WATER HEATER Filed July 25, 19:52

Mlll/lAZIll/IA 1 i g awlllllllllul INVENTOR 1 00 8 l udwl ORNEY PatentedMay 1, 1934 INSTANTANEOUS ELECTRIC WATER.

HEATER Louis Ludwig, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application July 25, 1932, Serial No. 624,389

3 Claims. (Cl. 21940) The invention relates to the type of electricwater heaters which are attached to a water faucet and which heats thewater as it flows through the heater. The present invention has for itsmain object to provide a heater which is completely automatic in itsoperation, in that it does not require any switch mechanism of any kindbut is automatically switched on or off by the starting or the stoppingof the flow of water through it.

Another object is to provide a heater in which the heating element is toa large extent self cleaning, in that the flowing water removes andcarries off any deposits which are ordinarily apt to accumulate on theelectrodes. A further object is to so construct the device that theheating element may be quickly and easily removed or installed. A stillfurther object is to provide a heating element which will consume aminimum amount of current and which will not burn out. Additionalobjects are to provide a heater which may readlybe attached to anyordinary faucet which has no parts easily broken or apt to get out oforder, which is light in weight, which is neat and pleasing inappearance, which requires little space, and which is inexpensive tomanufacture.

- These and various other objects and advantages will be readilyunderstood from the following description and from the accompanyingdrawing of a preferred embodiment of the invention in which, however,modifications may be made without departing from the scope of theappended claims. In the drawing Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional front viewof the heater,

Fig. 2 a cross-sectional side view,

Fig. 3 a top view,

Fig. 4 another top view with the cap removed, and

Fig. 5 an enlarged cross-sectional view of the heating element showingits construction in detail.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4, the device comprises a housing 10, acap 11 and a heating element 12. The housing is made of insulatingmaterial, while the cap is preferably made of metal. The housing isconstructed with a large, downwardly extending chamber 13 in which theele ment 12 is suspended, and is provided, at its upper end, with twooppositely-disposed lugs 14 and 15 in which holes 16 and 1'7 are molded.

The cap is of the same configuration as the upper end of the housing andprovided with an upwardly-extending and internally-threaded neck 18 inwhich a plurality of screws 19 is radially part of the neck 18.

mounted. The cap is secured to the housing by bolts 20 and 21 and agasket 22 seals the joint between the cap and the housing. A resilientgasket 23 is also placed in the bottom of the threaded An opening 24,formed .0 through the gaskets 22 and 23 and the cap 11, leads from theneck 18 to the chamber 13.

Referring now also to Fig. 5, the heating element consists of aplurality of plates or electrodes which are clamped together by bolts 2565 and 26. The plates are preferably made of monel metal, and theelement is preferably assembled in the following manner. Alternateplates 27 are provided at one end with holes which fit tightly aroundthe bolt' 25 and at the opposite ends with (0 larger holes in which theshoulders of insulating collars 28 fit. These collars are mounted onthebolt 26. The other plates 29 are similarly provided at one end withholes fitting tightly around the bolt 26 and at the other ends with [5holes fitting on the shoulders of insulating collars 30. Additionalinsulating washers 31 and 32 are inserted between the plates. Thus,every other plate is electrically connected to the bolt 25, while thealternate plates are electrically con- 30 nected to the bolt 26 butinsulated from the plates connected to the bolt 25.

Two oppositely disposed recesses or seats 33 and 34 are molded in thetop face of the housing. The heating element is suspended in the chamber13 35 by having the ends of the bolt 25 supported in these seats, asplainly shown inFig. 1. A groove 35 is also formed in the top face ofthe housing and in this groove a soft rubber bushing 36 is placed. Arubber covered electric cable 37 is no passed through this bushing andthe conductors 38 and 39, contained in this cable, are connected,respectively, to the bolts 25 and 26. The bushing 26 and the cable 37form a water tight seal in the groove 35 when the cap is clamped on thehousing. An outlet 40 extends downwardly from the upper part of thechamber 13.

The device operates in the following manner; the cap 11 is secured to afaucet and the cable 37 attached to a source of electric current. Until1 the water is turned on no current can flow through the heating elementowing to the alternate plates being insulated and separated from eachother. When the Water is turned on it will fiow through the opening 24,run down between the plates 27 and 29, fill the chamber 13 and flow outthrough the outlet 40. The water between the plates will act as aconductor and the high resistance of the water will cause it to becomevery hot. When the faucet is closed the water no left in the chamberwill be vaporized until it sinks below the ends of the plates, afterwhich the current will cease to flow, thus automatically switching offthe heater.

In heating water between electrodes there is a tendency for the water todecompose into its gaseous elements. If the plates are placedhorizontally, bubbles of these gases have a tendency to form on theunder sides of the plates while sediments tend to form on the uppersides, thus fouling the plates and decreasing the areas of the activesurfaces. Inthe present invention this is entirely overcome. The wateras it is forced between the vertical plates removes both the gases andthe sediment. It will also be noted that by suspending the heatingelement in the manner shown, it is a simple matter to remove this sothat both it and the housing may be cleaned with great ease.

By providing the cap with the screws 19 in addition to the thread, it ispossible to attach the device to any ordinary faucet regardless of theshape of its nozzle. The gasket 23 forms a water tight seal between thecap and the nozzle.

While I have mentioned that I prefer to employ plates made of Monelmetal, I do not wish to limit the invention to the use of such metalonly, nor do I wish to confine myself to employing the means shown anddescribed for insulating the plates of the heating element from eachother; as various other methods might be employed.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this device is thoroughlyautomatic in operation, practically self-cleaning, simple andinexpensive in construction, and that it may be readily attached to anyordinary faucet.

Having described my invention and its operation, what I claim as new andwish to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a water heater of the class described, an insulating-housinghaving a downwardly extending chamber, a cap secured on said housing andhaving means for attaching it to a faucet, a water outlet leading fromthe upper part of the chamber, an electric heating element verticallysuspended in said chamber and consisting of a set of vertical plateselectrically connected with each other and another set of verticalplates alternately interposed between the first-mentioned plates andalso electrically connected with each other, said last-mentioned platesspaced and insulated from the first-mentioned plates, the sets of platesconstituting the electrodes of the heating element, a rod extendingthrough the upper end of the heating element, two oppositely-disposedseats formed in the upper face of the housing in which seats the ends ofthe rod rest, and means for connecting said heating element to a sourceof electric current.

2. In a water heater of the class described, an insulating housinghaving a downwardly extending chamber, a cap secured on said housing andhaving means for attaching it to a faucet, a water outlet leading fromthe upper part of the chamber, an electric heating elementverticallysuspended in said chamber and consisting of a set of vertical plateselectrically connected with each other and another set of verticalplates alternately interposed between the first-mentioned plates andalso electrically connected with each other, said last-mentioned platesspaced and insulated from the first-mentioned plates, the sets of platesconstituting the electrodes of the heating element, a rod extendingthrough the upper end of the heating element, two oppositely-disposedseats formed in the upper face of the housing in which seats the ends ofthe rod rest, electric conductors for connecting said heating element toa source of electric current, and means for water-tightly sealing theopening through which said conductors pass.

3. In a water heater of the class described, an insulating housinghaving a downwardly extending chamber, a cap secured on said housing andprovided with means for attaching it to a faucet, a water outlet leadingfrom the chamber, an electric heating element vertically suspended insaid chamber and consisting of a set of vertical plates electricallyconnected with each other and another set of vertical plates alternatelyinterposed between the first mentioned plate and also electricallyconnected with each other, said last-mentioned plates spaced andinsulated from the firstmentioned plates, the sets of platesconstituting the electrodes of the heating element, all of said platesheld together by an upper and a lower rod so as to form a self-containedunit, the rods forming the terminals of the heating element, the upperrod extended on both sides of the heating element to form a means bywhich the element may be suspended in the chamber, and means forconnecting the rods to a source of electric current.

LOUIS LUDWIG.

